"Weak" in London and Paris

“Weak” in London and Paris!

                                                                                             By: Carole Blake  

Weak with joy and excitement, that is! My husband, Larry, and I just returned from an amazing week in London and Paris. Blimey! It was magnifique! But it certainly started out on the wrong foot!

We had signed up with a very high-end tour group, and they suggested that we get to the airport (JFK) three hours prior to our flight to London. The flight was at 9:15 PM, and so we asked the car service to pick us up at 5:30 since rush-hour traffic in Long Island – where we live – is pretty hectic. The car service had been recommended by our new next-door neighbor who had told us Bobby, the driver, was really good. We were all packed and ready to go…passports safely in place, and 5:30 ticked by…then 5:45…and so on. We tried calling him several times, but only got a busy signal. I called our neighbor and asked if Bobby might have another number, but he didn’t. The next minute our neighbor was at our door waiting to take us to JFK! What a generous thing to do…especially since he and his wife were expecting company for dinner! But we accepted because we really needed to get to that airport quickly! The good news about this episode is that when we were only about 10 minutes from home, Bobby called Larry’s cell, told us that he had thought the pick-up time was 6:00, and that he was on his way to meet us at a nearby gas station and drive us the rest of the way to the airport. Whew! That worked out just fine…and our neighbor got home to his wife and his dinner guests!

We got to JFK in plenty of time; checked in; did all the stuff you’re supposed to do, and had time to sit down at an airport restaurant. We each ordered a drink and a sandwich, and the bill only came to $100! (Hey, that’s airport restaurants for you! What can ya do!) We boarded our flight to London on time, and 7 hours and 20 minutes later, we arrived! Many passengers on the flight were sleeping; not me. I can barely sleep in my bed, but that’s another story! So it’s around 4:00 AM in my head, but it’s actually now 9:00 AM in London. We were picked up by a driver sent by our tour and arrived at our gorgeous hotel, The Churchill, in about an hour. Our room was lovely!

The welcome cocktail reception/dinner at our hotel was fun. We got to meet all the other people on our tour. The food was delicious; the drinks wonderful (I’ve never been known to dislike a drink…but that’s another story!). And the people…what a terrific variety of men and women from all over the USA. Over the course of the week, we got to know several of them quite well. Just to point out a few, there were Linda and Ron from California (friendly, funny, perky); Pete and Maria from New Jersey (also friendly and kind; sorry Maria that I kept calling you Wendy! Don’t exactly know why; maybe it was the time change…or maybe the drink!); Sandy from Florida (sweet and gushing with personality); Jeanine from Arizona (a bit handicapped in the ‘walking department’, but not one bit handicapped in enthusiasm!); the “young couple”, Adib and Elizabeth from Texas (smart and romantic); the 4 couples we called “The Reading Group” from Reading, PA (which happens to be where I was born, but since I moved from there at age 2 ½ , I didn’t remember any of them!); the 2 lovely ladies from Connecticut, Barbara and Carol (nobody mixed us up cause my name has an “e” at the end!); Patti and Dargin from California (you can’t forget his name!); and others from Manhattan, Virginia, Tennessee, Illinois, and Maryland. Our adorable young tour guide, Charlie (short for Charlotte) is from Massachusetts. So now you get the picture of the variety of personalities we were among. A very special group!

The next day in London we visited Windsor Castle, built in the 11th century, and the longest occupied palace in Europe. Later, on to Westminster Abbey, architecturally exquisite, it is not only the burial place of certain royalty, but it was there that Prince William married Kate Middleton. Kind of mind-blowing to say the least! On Day 3 we saw the Tower of London which holds the Crown Jewels (you really need to have a huge head if you’re going to be royalty in England!), and that evening we went to the theatre district and saw “Mathilda”, one of the best musicals ever! Day 4 was the British Museum (it certainly had NOT lost its charm!)…but even better than that was afternoon tea at Fortnum & Mason, the legendary department store. (Just for the record, scones with clotted cream had been recommended to me by a friend before I left on this journey, and from now on I will do whatever she recommends!)

The next day we took the Eurostar train through the “Chunnel” to Paris. Upon arriving our bus took us to Le Grand Hotel, another beauty! Day 6 took us to Versailles filled with so much historical and beautiful artwork…and of course fabulous gardens as well. Later our bus took us to Montmartre, a city of artists and poets. All this time I had been hoping that the French I had taken in school would serve me well, and it did…as long as people spoke VERY, VERY slowly! Day 7 was when we came face to face with Mona Lisa at the Louvre. Wow! (But I was amazed at how small that painting is compared to all the others.) And the day was capped off with a farewell dinner cruise on which we all said adieu to Paris.

The next morning Larry and I were picked up at our hotel at 9:40 AM. Our flight was at 1:40 PM, but it’s all about customs and immigration…that kind of stuff. The flight was smooth, the flight attendants helpful, and we arrived back at JFK at around 4:00 PM New York time. For us it was 10:00 PM. Then we went through customs and immigration. That took about an hour. We got our luggage and called Bobby (this time he was right on time!) and got back home at 6:00 (midnight for us), went to a local place for pizza (we were hungry), and went to bed local time at 8…but 2:00 AM for us!

The tiredness has mostly worn off, but the happy and exciting memories of London, Paris, and all those wonderful, friendly people will NEVER wear off.